


I'm coming with her!

by TwoPointNo



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 07:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14764841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoPointNo/pseuds/TwoPointNo
Summary: Ruby Lucas has been looking at Regina Mills for almost three decades now, and when the curse breaks she decides she's done with just looking.





	I'm coming with her!

**Author's Note:**

> This was up in FF.net /years/ ago, and I just found it in the depths of my google drive, maybe it's not that bad and I can post it here as well.

Ruby is staring at Regina Mills, again, and it is entirely possible she hasn’t realized, except she knows she has because she furrows her brow when she looks Ruby’s way every morning now, like she was hoping Cara would take her order (not the creepy one with a red piece of hair that’s just not mayor worthy), but hey it’s whatever she’s been in this green earth for almost thirty years now and her time is running out so she’s gonna appreciate the finer things in life.

Which, Regina Mills has to be the eighth wonder of the world, at least top ten and that’s a stretch; she has that flicky hair that’s adorable but _fucking hot_ at the same time, and her eyes are scary some days but also a deep alluring brown you want to look at all day (and she does, as much as she can), and her lips are always perfectly covered in shades of _I will kiss you until you forget to speak_ or something like that, and there’s that scar that you just want to bite… and that’s only on her head, if she keeps going down (which she has) Granny will take her pay of the day for inefficiency (again).

She’s a regular (everyone in town is) she comes in every morning, gets coffee to go, Monday through Friday, right before going to her office, every day she looks divine, Saturdays she skips sometimes Ruby’s noticed, but generally she shows up a little later to watch Mary Margaret fall of a stool, she always does that now that Ruby thinks about it, whatever, Sundays she doesn’t come and Ruby pouts all day.

 

One day she comes in with a baby. And lord, Ruby never thought herself the mom type after her own mother died of… something? Whatever when she was five, but in that moment (moments) a whole white dresses beach honeymoon two babies and one big dog idea flashes through her mind and her head falls to her palm, eyes dazed in Regina’s general direction and when Granny snaps her back with some dish rag she springs to action.

She goes to the booth Regina just settled in with the baby seat, she smiles at the mayor of their little town, her eyes are set in the new addition to the family in the table and she doesn’t even realize Ruby’s there until she clears her throat and say the worst thing she’s said in her existence “Where did this little guy come from and won’t his mommy miss him?” Regina’s face turns to her and her expression is thunder (oh shit) Ruby meant it as a joke (ohshitohshitIfuckedup) “Are you suggesting I steal infants from their mothers Miss Lucas?” “I- I- no it was a joke Madame Mayor” Regina stares her down for what feels like days and finally says “my usual, please” in her normal voice, _her goddess_ voice and turns back to the baby Ruby still has no explanation to.

The baby is a daily fixture now and Regina glows when she looks at him, Ruby stares and stares and wishes for her own baby (that’s also Regina’s baby, and the dog too), she knows Regina’s not married or anything and every night she goes to sleep thinking that the next day she’s going to get rid of her red streak and get some jeans instead of shorts but the next morning she just doesn’t remember, it’s all hazy all the time, maybe she drunk herself dumb in high school and college but she just doesn’t fucking remember either, whatever.

Maybe a week after she opened her big mouth she finally works up the nerve to address the baby situation again, bravado from punching Whale in the gut after he touched her ass one time too many, she walks over there with a big smile and Regina gives her one in return, not the polite one, the residual baby glow one, the one that reaches her eyes and makes a wrinkle next to them, and Ruby knows she’s not sleeping tonight, maybe ever again, (holy shit) it’s such a beautiful smile, Ruby cocks her head to the little sleeping bundle “He is so cute” Regina moves a finger softly on his stomach “His name is Henry, he is indeed adorable” “Henry is a great name Madam Mayor” She smiles at her again and holy shit “after my father, and you’re welcome to call me Regina dear Madame Mayor is much too long for you to say everyday” “well Ruby is shorter than Miss Lucas too” “Fair enough”

After that she asks Granny for a ten minute break and she looks at her like she’s going to go shoot up heroin in the alley when in fact she’s just going to go flail in one of the B&B’s rooms for a little while.

 

Henry Mills is two now and when he comes in with his mother he says _‘uby_ over her shoulder loud enough for the few people up that early to turn to him, he says _g‘anny_ too, but he says _‘uby_ first, even when he hasn’t spotted her yet and that’s all that matters, Regina smiles at her and says _Ruby_ too and her heart expands and dreads the weekend when these two don’t need morning coffee or cookies outside their house, where she’s never been (like the dog she knows they don’t have and she could definitely introduce to their life)

 

One cold afternoon the Diner phone rings and Cara says it’s for her, which weird, and when she goes to it the first word she hears is the bane of her nights, Regina exhales a _Ruby_ into the phone and she’s thrown back to midnight in the dark with no visual to help her and a soft tone she’s actually been imagining pretty well over the years, she shakes her head “Regina, what can I help you with? You need some take out?” (Not that they do that but the mayor might not know that and who is she to deny the mayor?) “No no, I’m afraid I have to bother you further, an emergency has presented itself and Henry’s not at the age where I can just bring him into the office with me anymore and it’s too late to call the usual babysitter without previous notice, It would not be for long I’m sure and he’s had a snack, you’d just have to make sure he doesn’t get into danger-“ “it’s fine I love the kid (I love you) I’ll be there in twenty tops” she hangs up without saying goodbye, jumps the counter, grabs her coat, ditches the apron, bellows to granny and sprints out to her car in record time.

Later she is at Regina’s house, maybe heaven there’s no proof that she’s alive objectively thinking, and she’s not a creep she’s not going to go snooping around but if the pictures are hanging around they’re meant to be observed, she looks without being too intrusive and when she’s admired all of them with the four year old narrating every event that led to them she sits with him and plays with the toys he brings her and the whole place smells like them, like Regina and Henry and home, child’s toys around and a few drawings and one briefcase just sitting there and in her mind she adds a dog and maybe another kid and she smiles at what she could have with someone (Regina, what she could have with Regina).

 

Henry’s seven and she’s the new (well three years new) regular babysitter, Regina pays even when Ruby insists she doesn’t have to, so she gives half the money to Henry “Get your mom something cool for mother’s day, and her birthday too… when’s her birthday?”

Some nights Henry tells her to stay and watch the movie he’s going to watch with them since his mom is bringing them all dinner from Granny’s anyways (She does that when she stays late) and Ruby says she couldn’t intrude in their night like that, that she’ll eat her burger and go but Regina always insists and oh (who is she to deny the mayor?)(I love you)

 

Henry’s turning ten and Ruby swears she hasn’t aged and she remembers a hazy first meeting where Regina hated her maybe? Regina hasn’t aged a day either… goddesses don’t age anyways so whatever, but she’s different, sad maybe, angry definitely, she yells at Mary Margaret when she falls down of the stool and knocks into her, “Madame Mayor for you dear” she snaps one day and Ruby’s heart breaks and she needs ten minutes this time to go take deep breaths in the same B&B room and she remembers some time a few years? ago when Regina wasn’t Regina, just the hot mayor and … and Lord how long has Regina been mayor anyways? Why don’t they ever hold elections? Whatever.

It’s an off night for her and she’d like to go drown her sorrows in rum & coke but her friends are one pregnant lady, Mary Margaret holy Blanchard and Cara who’s been taking Regina’s order these days so fuck her. And she could go to the rabbit hole and get drunk off men’s annoying free drinks but she’s just not up to it, currently she’s just not up to getting dressed anyways so… Her phone rings and she picks it up and sees _Regina :D_ on the caller id, it’s been a while since she’s even talked to her let alone called her, Henry’s old enough to stay by himself and Regina’s not really a social caller, maybe she calls that Kathryn woman she drinks coffee with sometimes (fuck her too), Ruby answers and a sob meets her ears, she sits up immediately “Is Henry there?” Ruby gets out of bed, digs for a hoodie and some shoes “No, what happened? How long has he been gone?” “I- I left after he was home already, he took- his backpack is gone too, I checked his usual spots” “call the sheriff I’m coming”

Ruby is in Regina’s house again and she’s checking for Henry’s things, what he could have taken, with Regina’s help and Sheriff Graham has maybe hugged her weirdly twice now before going out in his patrol car to look around town and she’s been told to not let Regina alone to obsess, that it’s a very safe town and that a young boy can’t be too far. Regina tells her about some book and some issues Henry’d been having with her in a weird detached voice Ruby’d never heard before, she is not sobbing anymore she is just sitting near the door, on the foyer floor staring at the wall and Ruby doesn’t dare make contact she just stares at the same wall and repeats to herself it’s a very safe town (I love him).

When Regina falls asleep Ruby carries her off the floor into a couch in the living room they’ve spent some nights in with Henry between them and let’s her sleep as she stares out the window and dials and redials Graham’s phone until the fucker turns it off, it’s maybe two am when she sees the light approaching before she hears the tire sounds and as soon as she does she goes and wakes Regina up “Someone’s coming”, she sprints off the couch through the foyer. opens the door, rushes down the stairs, crashes into Henry, holds him until he squirms out and tears up in relief “I found my real mom” he says and Ruby’s still watching through the window but lord does she want to hit him, a lot is always hazy but she remembers Regina being this kid’s mother since he was zero years old and puked on her perfect mayor clothes.

“You’re Henry’s birth mother?” Regina is no longer teary, her body is rigid again, this blonde woman just staring, and Graham too “Hi” the newcomer says, she invites her in for cider, Ruby sneaks out through the back door and goes home (great, another blonde)

This girl gets a room in the B&B (Emma, her name is Emma) and she’s not that bad, says Henry went and got her from Boston she just needs a night and she’ll be out of town next day. She lies. She stays, says she’s worried for the kid. Ruby knows no one loves Henry more than Regina, that she would never hurt him, but she’s not going to mess with them, with the careful balance they’re achieving (Regina orders from her again, calls her Miss Lucas but you gotta pick your battles)

Emma took a chainsaw to her tree, she loves that tree, it’s war. There’s a tension to them that Ruby (no one in town) likes, it screams conflict, the newspaper says Emma was in jail for a while and Ruby can’t really hold it against her, she’d done some pretty weird shit when she was a kid too, she remembers peter she did …something to him, she feels jail might have been necessary she just doesn’t know, whatever.

One day Mary Margaret tells her she was reading to some coma guy in the hospital and he woke up and told her he loved her or something, she doesn’t really listen, until she says Emma is going to be living with her (She’s really staying huh) Ruby nods and tells her that’s good, she thinks about Regina and that little boy, I found my real mom and hours of sitting next to the door

Ashley’s going in to labor and she can’t really leave her job to go with her to the hospital but Emma’s there and some weird things happen, Emma has that effect, and she’s happy for her friend because really? She’s been pregnant since… forever? Whatever

Henry gets trapped in an abandoned mine that collapses, and she doesn’t even get a call, she realizes because Archie runs (jogs) past the Diner and she’s outside taking a small break and he knows somehow but she didn’t get a call. She drives him and Pongo there and when she gets there what she sees is Regina rigid staring at the debris and she’s going to run to her, to help, but then she sees Emma up in her face (fucking Emma), Regina called Emma, she’s Henry’s other mother isn’t she?

Ruby stands there with Pongo as Emma goes down and gets him back, the savior of Henry’s tales, she used to talk to her when he came in the diner by himself, now he looks for Emma and if she isn’t there he goes out immediately, the three of them hug and don’t even realize she’s there (that half the town is there, but this is not about them), she could get herself a dog.

One day Emma tells her Regina was sleeping with Graham, Ruby cries, which is so stupid but she cries because she loves her so much and Graham doesn’t even look like he feels anything for anyone, let alone the goddess he’s allowed to touch.

One day Emma tells her that they punched each other in the face over Graham apparently, Ruby wants to punch Emma for punching Regina on the face. She doesn’t, she kinda likes Emma (she’s not sleeping with Regina, she’s cool)

There’s a fire and Emma is there to pull Regina out of it (thank god for fucking Emma) then there’s a sheriff election and of course Ruby votes for Emma, everyone votes for Emma.

Regina comes less and less into the Diner, Ruby most definitely does not want to call to check up on her and how she’s handling the whole Henry situation, nope.

Regina’s friend disappears and it is just awful (fuck her)(godammit Ruby you’re not a horrible human being don’t be fucking rude) apparently Mary Margaret, that was sleeping with her husband or something, did it (no wonder Regina yelled at her all the time, they must have known)

Regina’s friend shows up and she’s so relieved, Ruby recalls that face of when Henry showed up and wonders if Regina would even realize if she disappeared (Fuck Emma? Before she came along none of this shit happened in their town)

Henry is in the hospital, Ruby has no details (not since that book and Emma and all the weird stuff) and Granny doesn’t let her go out as soon as she realizes so she has to wait until her shift is over, and wait she does, she drops three dishes that morning and paces behind the counter (I love the little shit) she stares at her phone waiting for Regina to call, she stares at her phone trying to call Regina (I love the little shit so much what happened to him?) She’s midway to a table with a coffee cup when the light sweeps over them, she drops three dishes and a cup of coffee that morning

Granny comes out of the kitchen and looks at her _Red_ she jumps the counter again and hugs her grandmother before running out of the diner and seeing Snow and David, she runs to them too (holy shit) hugs Snow, her best friend, she’s barely been speaking to her best friend for decades, sees the dwarves, the rest of the town, some she never even met before beyond their coffee orders but they’re milling around them (around Snow, it’s snow they’re looking for) and she pulls away, the queen ready to address her subjects when Henry and Emma come around the corner and oh (this little shit is fine thank god) (I love him so much) (I love Regina so much)

That’s when Ruby knows she’s fucked.

Suddenly she’s looking around for her best friend’s mortal enemy with no intention to avenge anyone (Fuck Kid where did you leave your mom?) she hears death threats and suddenly they’re a mob and she’s in it, walking (storming) to Mifflin and oh she has to stop them the curse is broken she needs to wolf the fuck up and tear this people to shreds to stop them

But Snow’s trying to get them to stop too, and they’ll listen (To Snow they’ll listen) but they’re getting there and Henry’s scared, she can see it, she knows him since he was zero years old, she knows him more than Emma and Snow and David who’s holding his hand and all but dragging him with them

And he screams for her, he spots her just behind them and he yells _Ruby_ and yanks his hand out of David’s and when he turns to see where he’s scampering to he nods at her and keeps going, they trust her like that, they trust her with their grandkid and she’s trying to find a way to save the Evil Queen

He latches on her hand, tears down his face and she reaches up with the free one to clear them, lagging behind, the mob is unstoppable but she stops to hear what he has to say, he sttuters “I- I was right but but but my mo- Regina they’re going to do something to my mom!” Ruby hugs him for a brief moment (I love this little boy) “I won’t let them” (I love this little boy’s mom)

They hurry and catch up just as Regina is opening her door and the crowd parts for the big bad wolf like butter, they reach the front of it to see Whale pining Regina to a pillar of her house and Emma intervenes (Thank God for fucking Emma), Regina is taken to a cell (alive, she’s alive) and she still has Henry’s hand in hers, she walks him to the sheriff station cleaning his tear-streak cheeks every once in a while.

They arrive there and Henry won’t even look at his mother, even though he’s been crying for her for almost an hour now (endless hour) and Emma takes him to the apartment with Snow and David and they let Ruby stay there when she offers to look after Regina, “so she won’t escape or whatever”

Regina looks at her and leans back in her cot, ever dignified in a pantsuit (this stupid crazy psychopath) (I love her) Ruby stares until she grows uncomfortable and masks it up as hostility “Miss Lucas I am hardly a flight risk” “you have no magic, right Regina?” (She doesn’t look magical) she raises an eyebrow “We’re calling the Evil Queen by name now?” “Cut the shit, we were friends before the whole book thing, I remember”

She’s silent for hours and Emma comes and goes, brings them food, asks Ruby if she wants to leave to talk to Snow or Granny oe something, she doesn’t, she doesn’t want any part in whatever diplomatic discussions are happening. Finally she breaks “So Henry was super concerned about you I mean he didn’t want to talk to you but he was crying because he thought they might just kill you on the spot” Regina seems to absorb this new information before replying “opposed to killing me in a few weeks after the ink of the royal decree is dry?” Ruby cringes “I won’t let them” Regina looks at her and laughs

Hours later, in the middle of the night she hears her voice again “Your misplaced lust for me, Miss Lucas, will have you killed if you don’t tread lightly” Ruby keeps quiet, stares at the floor “Honestly dear twenty eight years in a row you looked at me every day like you wanted to bend me over a table when I was just innocently ordering coffee, you thought I wouldn’t notice?” “I was cursed” (this bitch) “I am surprised you never attempted anything, not even a kiss, why was that?” “Cursed me sucked” (This annoying bitch) “You’re not so bad yourself, I would not have said no” (this fucking bitch, I swear to god)

Maybe the sun is rising and maybe neither of them have slept and maybe that has to do with what Ruby’s thinking of doing but hey she’s young (no, she’s like fifty something by now) and like Regina said, someone might be dying soon and she is a goddamn wolf so she’s gonna go for it “So you know my misplaced lust, yeah it’s not _just_ lust I …like you, we should go on a date” “Excuse me?” “Now I know you heard that, don’t be annoying” “You were cursed” Regina repeats to her when her voice has dropped an octave “Yeah well curse breaking didn’t really delete our curse memories so are you gonna come on this date or no?” “Yes dear, right before I’m hung we can go for a romantic night under the stars”

Morning comes and brings Emma with them, breakfast from Granny’s and an offer for Ruby to go sleep because she apparently looks like shit, she takes it, goes and dyes her red streak brown and buys one pair of skinny jeans, wolves don’t need that much sleep, she looks like shit because that answer wasn’t a yes. She returns with Regina’s usual lunch order and tells Emma to go talk to her parents or something, that she’s got it here

Regina observes and accepts her meal “Did you check on Henry?” she didn’t, but really what could be wrong? Snow likes to protect her family “No… but I’m sure he’s physically fine and I can call him right now if you want me to” Regina scoffs “He won’t want to speak to me so I don’t see the point” “He’ll come around” Regina shakes her head, her hair flies around her (beautiful) “you’re wearing a lot of fabric dear” “You made sure I had no pants beautifully for someone who doesn’t want to date me” “hmm”

Later there’s a purple-pink mist that clouds the windows for a few seconds and when Ruby looks back to the cell Regina’s sitting primly at the edge of it, her eyes almost shining purple and her lips slightly parted (fuck me), she exhales once as her eyes go back brown and flicks her hair back into place (oh shit) she looks at the lock and it clicks (oh shit) she uncrosses her legs slowly and stands up (oh shit), the cell door swings forward and Regina Mils walks out (ah fuck)

“Well Miss Lucas, it’s been a pleasure, would you be a dear and tell Snow White to refrain from any assassination attempts, in return I will extend the same kindness of course, and to Miss Swan… tell her I’ll call her”

Ruby watches stunned as a cloud of darker purple smoke engulfs her and clears up (even her magic is pret-) rippling pain stops her mid thought.

There’s something clawing at her ribcage, it’s tearing her up from the inside, she goes to the desk to grab her phone and call someone (Granny, Granny) but before she can grab it there’s a growl coming up from her throat and she stumbles into the desk knocking everything on it, she sees the phone skitter to the floor and when she grabs it she finds yellow eyes and sharp teeth staring back at her in the screen, she’s dazed for a moment until she registers the rest of the room

There’s scents, there’s Regina’s lingering scent (intoxicating, god), there’s Snow’s familiar one, half David half her, there’s a hint of Henry, all clothes softener and boy sweat and there’s Emma’s leather and denim and shampoo; there’s also sounds, the hum of the light above her, that’s a new one, cars somewhere outside, engines are loud, steps closer, coming closer; Ruby stands up from the floor, a rumbling in her throat, nails growing into claws slowly

In comes Snow silent as a grave looking at Emma who jumps and pulls out her gun at aims immediately “What the fuck?” Snow shrieks too, Ruby growls “Ruby! It’s me, It’s us” she growls again, at Emma, at Emma’s gun, it’s shaking slightly (good), Snow interferes again “Emma lower the gun” she does, she listens to her mother.

Ruby relaxes and pulls the closer chair to her so she can slump into it, slowly her nails and teeth go back to normal, her eyes turn back brown. She closes them and lets her head fall back with a sigh. “Where’s Regina?” Emma speaks up from the opposite wall, still scared (which fucking good she’s not even asking how I am) “She said don’t try to kill her and she won’t try to kill you and that she’ll call you” Snow is fussing over her and she’s slumped on a chair and Emma’s just not picking up in the mood here “You just let her go?” “Well magic’s back you genius what did you want me to do, cling onto her purple cloud?”

Later, when she’s feeling almost back to normal (never normal, never ever again) and after talking to Granny about it and consulting the moon’s state for the next few days online, she goes to Mifflin and knocks until Regina opens the door. “What are you doing here?” she shrugs “I can turn again” Regina stares “So you just thought you’d come turn next the Evil Queen so she’d be your first meal of the night?” “Can I come in?” “Well if someone’s dying tonight I won’t do it on the porch”

Ruby takes the house in for what seems to be the first time in forever, she hadn’t come back since that night where Henry went looking for Emma, a lifetime ago. It was familiar but it was also brand new, the smell of it, so deeply Regina and Henry, layers of a life lived in that house, and the colors, they were brighter somehow even though that never seemed like a thing, but what would she know she’d only been the wolf right up to when the curse hit, when she couldn’t have possibly known to be able to compare

“Miss Lucas you passed along my message?” she looks at Regina again “yeah, they’re fine with it I guess” Regina nods “And would you be so kind as to tell me what they plan to do about… well everything?” Ruby motions to what was usually her piece of the couch and Regina nods and as Ruby sits she crosses the rom and sits on a single chair

Ruby rolls her eyes and stares at Regina trying to get her to sit in the couch “Honestly? Ok Madame Mayor… I don’t know, I haven’t talked to Snow about anything it’s been two hell days and I just want some of that wine you always gave me so like get a movie we can watch”

“We’re not _friends_ and I really suggest you get your paws off my couch and leave before you end up a pelt in my floor”

“haha get out all the dog jokes you’ve been saving up for the last three decades… you’re crazy, three fucking decades!”

“Twenty eight years mongrel, learn how to count” She looks at Ruby shrugging and rolling her eyes “and get off the damn couch!”

Ruby reaches forward for the remote lying on the opposite side of the couch “oh what you’re going to kill me? And then wipe the blood off the knife to cut up Henry’s celery snacks, please” yeah she’s really gunning here for American’s next top corpse but she’s the big bad wolf so she’s gonna roll with it until Regina cracks

“You think I don’t own at least two knives and an almost endless supply of other techniques to kill you with?” she lets out a laugh, cold “you severely underestimate me, please tell me Snow White at least cried about my atrocities when she was with you”

“Not really” Ruby turns on the TV regardless “Snow isn’t a crier, she bitched about you a lot but no tears were shed” after a few seconds of pressing buttons she finally came across something she could watch ”Hey, Marley and Me check it out, remember when you _bawled_ your eyes out and made Henry cry because you were crying? Who would have thought, the Evil Queen”

Regina glares “What are you doing? Don’t you understand a death treat when you hear one?”

“Look, I’m not afraid of you, you have Henry now, you can’t kill me, I’m untouchable, he will cry, then you will cry because you love me… like in a friendly way" (nice save asshole). She turns again to the tv, talks softer, blushes slightly (damn you Ruby you’re the big bad wolf) “I mean since you got Henry you started being nicer to everyone and when I babysitted you asked me to stay and we watched movies and… talked and … you know just… I think we’re as friends as possible, we’re probably the best we will get here”

Regina eyes her “that’s why you have misplaced romantic- wait, What about Snow White?”

“Stop deflecting and finish your stupid thought, damn”

“What about Snow White?”

“Look now I have no cape and I can shift so I wouldn’t want to hang around Snow or Emma or your own damn son too much, so yeah”

Regina uncrosses her legs and shifts in the most disinterested manner Ruby’s ever seen “So I was right, you’re afraid you’ll hurt someone so you’ve come here to hurt me first in case it happens”

Ruby looks at her, sees the turmoil in those eyes she believes she’s come to know “you’re a big girl with a shitton of magic and at least two knives, you’ll be fine… and I kinda wanted to see how you’re doing?” Regina’s silent and Ruby rolls her eyes “Regina, Henry’s just a boy and he loves you he’s just mad, he’ll come around; and we both know Snow doesn’t execute people and the rest of the town bows to Snow, so I think you’re set for domiciliary arrest, ooh maybe community service where you go clean everyone’s house in a skimpy maid outfit” (nothing? Damn) “Regina?”

“I’m not sure what you want me to contribute here dear, it’s all just pure speculation is it not? Henry might very well take Emma Swan and leave town or at any given moment Snow White may crash through my door and try to kill me, who would stop her? I know I can’t or I’d be cementing my future as Henry’s long forgotten legal guardian as you so diligently pointed out yourself, that’s how I’m doing, now if you could leave I’d get back to my book for the evening”

“Oh god Regina, _please”_

“What?! What do I have to say for you to leave?! Yes, we had some semblance of a friendship while you were under the curse, and yes I’m not doing so well since my son is living with my archenemy”

“So do you wanna break out that wine now or…? I swear I’m just here to drown my own issues”

She sighs, stands up “Get another movie and please move your monstrously long legs of the couch so I can sit”

Ruby smiles to herself as Regina leaves the room, she just won, _what_ she doesn’t know but it was a victory, she yells as she hears things shuffling in the kitchen “Why? you don’t wanna cry when the puppy dies?” she hears Regina scoff and can clearly see the facial expression that normally accompanies the gesture in her mind

Three bottles of white wine and a new record later Regina is laughing at whatever is on TV at the moment and Ruby is staring at her from the other side of the couch, their legs touch sometimes when Regina moves and kicks, Ruby starts laughing too, at Regina not the movie but no one has to tell her that, eventually they’re both laughing hysterically and neither know what started it, glasses of wine in their hands and legs trashing beneath a blanket Regina herself had put in place sometime before the first bottle was over

It’s all great and Ruby’s really enjoying herself and praying wine hangover doesn’t delete memories but then she hears sobbing and looks over to Regina, really focuses on her face, _really_ strains for it and she sees tears tracking her cheeks and flies off her side of the couch to Regina’s, cleans the tears up with the collar of her shirt “Shit R‘gina what happened? I know you said Adam Sandler was ugly but to cry for?” she’s so drunk she isn’t even kidding

Regina looks at her with her sad, sad expression “They’re taking the little boy from him because he’s not his dad, I’m not Henry’s mother” she sobs again “my whole life is falling apart, this curse is broken so…” she gestures around with her arms and goes back to sobbing

Ruby gets herself under the blanket again and manages to put and arm over Regina’s shoulder, pulls her in and dries more tears with her shirt “oh no shhhh what are you talking about baby you _are_ his mother, you changed those smelly diaper and made those cute dinosaur cookies an-”

Regina stops her by putting the back of her hand (all of it? Okay) over her mouth “you called me baby, see now you think you like me and-” she sobs again “you’ve been so nice always and I like you but you can’t date the Evil Queen-“ a sniffle “and it’s my fault because I cursed you to just the town slut-“

Ruby interrupts “That’s so rude I slept with NO ONE while I was cursed and _you_ were the one fucking Graham and also straight”

Regina sits up and huffs “I’m not straight, I slept with a fairy once that’s a whole new species and you’re a werewolf so that’s like… something” she slurs the last part and looks back at the TV, probably trying to figure out what a female werewolf counts as “oh god I killed Graham”

“Yeah but like you killed everyone” Ruby laughs

Regina laughs too and then calms down, looks at Ruby “but since Henry, I- I hadn’t – he didn’t deserve it or anything…Graham”

Ruby’s still laughing and not listening, her arm is around Regina and her hand is playing with the collar of the satin shirt she’s wearing when the conversation slowly registers in her mind “wait you said you like me and that you fucked a fairy and those are girls”

Regina shakes her head “I don’t like that verb”

“Fine you fornicated…a fairy? Wait... are you gonna say yes to this date now?”

“you can’t _date_ the Evil Queen” Regina pushes Ruby away and curls herself up, drinks the last bit of the fourth bottle and stands up to get more

Ruby would follow but she doesn’t think standing is that good of an idea (where is that wolf metabolism?) eventually she sees Regina come back to her corner in the couch and she scoots closer, drops her head in Regina’s lap “hah yeah I can, I’ve been almost-dating the Evil Queen for like five years” Regina laughs “okay give me the last three, we’re so dating I’ve napped in this position and you’re even wearing the same skirt, I’ve seen all your wardrobe by now”

Regina stares down at her, eyes red rimmed but dry at last “I can admit we were close but I’m dying in around a week, I’d like you to maybe marry Swan so you can make sure Henry lives to adulthood”

Ruby sits up “fuck that shit you’re giving up? If you have to skip town and work out custody through the phone you do that you’re not Regina Mills if you’re giving up, I want mine back”

She gives Ruby a small smile and shakes her head “it’s still a no for that date of yours- I’m sorry you got cursed into _liking_ me”

Maybe it’s the alcohol (it’s definitely the alcohol) but Ruby moves forward and goes straight for Regina’s lips, kisses her passionately and as clumsily as possible in the state they’re in but Regina’s kissing back so she pays no mind and uses the same collar to pull her closer to her, slowly sits back until Regina’s practically on top of her, her short hair tickling Ruby’s cheeks (God is real)

They break and Ruby opens her eyes, finds Regina’s, she’s breathing heavily, they both are, Regina speaks first “you’re going to be…um… treaso,  it’s… they can kill you”

Ruby laughs at her and pulls her down all the way “you know if you’re dying in a week I want it, I want the stupid week”

Regina sits back up, pours herself a glass of wine and downs it, fills Ruby’s glass and hands it to her “you’re a good kisser” Ruby nearly chokes on her wine before coughing up “hell yeah you’ve been missing out for like thirty years and doing Graham and Emma and whoever and I just got the weird hair braiding”

“How dare you? I would never touch Swan and my braids were great you looked… classic” Regina looks at Ruby and motions for her to turn around, “I’m going to show you some weird hair braiding” as she sloppily puts one piece of hair on top (or was it under?) the other Ruby sips on her wine and the TV drones on.

Fourth wine bottle drunk, hair messed up beyond return for the night and mixed lipstick smeared on her face Ruby Lucas falls asleep with her head over Regina’s heart, her arm draped across Regina’s stomach and the blanket draped over as much as them as it could cover.

It’s two pm, not that one of them would know that as they are, still conked out in Regina’s couch, there hasn’t been a lot of movement except Ruby’s leg is hitched on Regina’s hip and there’s still a part of it dangling off the couch and her face is in Regina’s neck since she turned from being on her back to lying on her side.

They wake up when a loud noise comes from the foyer, wood hitting concrete most likely, Regina startles and she would fall down if Ruby hadn’t tightened her leg where it was and pulled her in. If Regina heard the noise Ruby felt it in her bones, she’s wide awake now and not as hangover as Regina who looks _adorable_ squinting and freeing her hand to motion the drapes shut.

 Ruby smells her surroundings and comes up with an staggering amount of Regina’s scent, even in herself and she smiles, as she ignores the wine on their clothes and on the glasses and bottles on the floor, she moves through the house and in the foyer she picks up Snow and David, so familiar, they never change, they’re with Emma who brings a tad of Henry in herself, she always does that now but it’s still like an accessory, not like Regina’s scent that’s so deeply ingrained with Henry’s that it just Regina’s.

Ruby turns her eyes to Regina who let herself fall down in the couch again with her eyes closed “You’re awake right?” It’s a whisper, she’s not going to cue them to their location so easily

Regina replies “shhhhh just some noise go back to sleep ‘uby”

Ruby smiles at her first name once again that she’d never head spoken so beautifully by someone so shitfaced “I would baby but Snow’s here, that was the noise”

 “Baby? Ok go back to sleep baby” Regina closes her eyes and burrows further into the couch, into Ruby and she curses her best friend inwardly, she’s ready for another try to get Regina to stand up when Snow beats her to it

“What are you two doing?!” Regina shoots up and grimaces, Snow keeps going “Ruby?! Are you okay? What did she do to you?! What did you do to her?!”

Regina is getting her composure back so Ruby disentangles herself and talks to Emma this time “Lower the damn gun, why do you always wanna shoot that thing? Damn have you seen the movies? Your gun can’t do nothing about Regina, or me, or anything actually bad in this town”

“Well fucking excuse me for being cautious, if a garden gnome comes after me you can be fucking sure I’m going to shoot it” she lets herself fall in a chair nearby and sees the bottles and glasses on the  floor, raises an eyebrow in Ruby’s direction and is ignored

Regina conjured up an aspirin and water somewhere while the last conversation happened and having taken it and fixed her hair with magic she talks “How Charming of you to illegally enter my property”

David answers her, sword at his hip “We were calling the whole morning when you didn’t pick up….”

“You decided to break my door down.”

“We decided to knock for a few minutes and when you didn’t get it we needed to come see you were still here because if we don’t know where you are we don’t know what you’re planning”

Regina scoffs “you could be standing in front of me as you are right now and have no idea what’s going through my mind shepherd”

Snows gets closer to Ruby, lowers herself so their faces are at the same level and starts patting her down “Are you okay? Look at your hair, what did she do to you?”

Ruby shakes her head and Emma snorts “Mary Margaret I Think safe to say that Rubes is here because she wants to be and that Regina’s giving it to her real good”

“We’re not sleeping together!” she looks at Regina briefly and focuses of Snow’s face “We’re… friends, you know that, Mary Margaret knows that”

She starts untangling her hair but Ruby bats her away “oh Rubes… you were _cursed_ and you know that _thing_ we talked about before the curse broke, it’s just not a good idea now”

Regina’s silent, Ruby glances at her from the corner of her eye and sees the Mayor mask in place, sees Emma suppressing a laugh in her chair and David flicking his eyes between Regina and Snow and herself. “what are you guys here for?”

“Red….”

“No, say what you’re gonna say so we can clean up and everyone can go on with their shitty lives”

Snow stands up and musters as much royalty as she can in an little cardigan and no crown “Regina Mills as acting monarch it is my duty to inform you that the council has decided to show you mercy and banish you, you will have one day to gather your belongings and get your affairs in order and by tomorrow noon you must be out of the realm, or in this case, the town”

Regina passes a hand through her hair “I have a right to know who this council consists of”

“We have given a seat to every reigning monarch your crimes affected, Archie Hopper as the crown’s counsel, Emma Swan as the town’s previous maximum authority in maintaining peace and seeing the law abided, and myself and my consort”

“I see, may I ask why the council is _so_ merciful”

Emma was gaping at them but in that moment she speaks up “The kid cried to Mary Margaret about you dying, I don’t think she could have done it”

Regina gives a small smile and looks at Ruby for a few seconds before turning back to Snow “I believe it would be better for your reign to execute me, Henry would not have to know until he is older or perhaps you could find someone to modify his memories, erase me from them”

Ruby turns her so they’re facing each other, sees the despair apparently no one is seeing in her eyes “God Regina what the actual fuck?! No, you can’t do that” she talks to Snow this time “no”

Everyone’s silent again and it’s Snow who speaks “Explain yourself Regina”

“I ask for _true_ mercy… your majesty, I would rather die than be denied my son for the rest of my life, and I am _sure_ you know that”

There’s a tear rolling down Ruby’s cheek and she sees Regina form a fist in her lap, she understands, she really does because she would follow this woman across that town line even if she had to give up her memories and then she would cry with this woman about the little boy they’d be leaving behind (I love them both so much)

“Very well-”

Emma interrupts “What? Fuck no” (Thank god for fucking Emma) “look he cried for hours about this, okay he might not want to see her right now but in two weeks? Or two months? Okay If I got attached to people who kept me for a year he must _love_ Regina and she’s a pretty shitty human overall but that boy shows no signs of abuse, has good clothes, complains when there’s no greens in his dinner and has so much books and toys he gets bored watching TV, that’s a kid well taken care of and I’m not about to let you kill his mother okay?”

Snow grits her teeth “What are you suggesting then?”

“Look she can be banished or whatever and text me her address and I promise I’ll drive the kid there every few weeks? Or something, I really thought that was the initial plan I didn’t know they were just gonna send you off”

Ruby stands up and she looks ridiculous with her hair all tangled and her clothes rumpled but she’s looking at Regina with a weird glint to her eyes “I’ll come with her”

Snow snaps “what?!”

“Curse is broken, so I can leave, I can cross the line, and there’s no magic outside of this town so I can’t shift out there, people don’t fear me out there, I don’t fear for people out there, I’m fucking going” Ruby laughs and sits down again, closer to Regina “ha! And you said a week”

Emma and David are silent and Regina is just staring at Ruby with her eyes wide, but is Snow the one that’s more shaken by Ruby’s rant “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Over a misshapen crush! It is not real! You were not even gay Ruby! You were cursed into this and now you’re going to leave your grandmother over this! What will she say? You cannot go following the Evil Queen as a puppy, you’re my best friend and I need you here! You will stay!”

“she knows” Ruby turns to Regina and takes her hand “Granny knows, since before the curse broke and I talked to her before getting here last night and she said she knows you’re more than the Evil Queen because of how you took care of Henry and gave her the lasagna recipe and that she’ll murder you if you hurt me but I didn’t think it was important to relay her message but now I do, we’re going and maybe Granny’ll come with us, she said she wants to travel the world, we’re going, and Emma is gonna bring Henry around, right Emma?”

Emma nods and looks over to Snow who’s red faced even when David is rubbing her back “Mary Margaret you guys can skype and you can come with me when I go take Henry and hang out, calm do-“

“Why can’t you call me MOM?!”

“I just met you!”

“Oh Emma, I’m sorry, I know, could you at least call me Snow? I’ so sorry I yelled at you it’s just…”

“I’ll try”

Regina flicks her hand and Snow flinches and David grabs for his sword, Ruby looks over to Regina who’s wearing the most neutral expression known to mankind, and Emma who apparently didn’t even notice the gesture and is looking at David with a hand in the pommel of his sword, but the only thing that happens is that Ruby’s hair starts unweaving itself, slowly.

Finally David speaks, his eyes trained in Ruby “I think it’s best if we leave now, Regina you have until tomorrow noon”

When they’re all gone and Ruby’s hair is settled down again, a perfect curtain, she speaks again “So I’m going to go pack and I guess I’ll call you tonight so we can leave at the same time”

Regina looks down and passes her hand through her hair “That was very… I appreciate it Miss Lucas but you should stay here, with your friends and your grandmother”

Ruby laughs “sorry sometime when my tongue was down your throat last night I decided Miss Lucas just won’t do, Ruby maybe Rubes, Red is a favorite, other cute nicknames of our own invention will be received as well”

“Ruby… it was good, we had a good night, please just stay”

“Look you’re a very pretty lady and all but not everything is about you, I can get mad out there without tearing people apart, it’s paradise”

“You’re not a monster, the wolf can be controlled Ruby”

“yeah yeah I’ll call tonight” Ruby stands up to leave but before she goes she turns over and cradles Regina’s face softly in her hands, kisses her (goddammit finally) “I get at least a week” she bends over, picks up the stray bottles and the two glasses, “I’ll leave through the back door”

It’s seven am and it’s one hour before Regina told her she was leaving when the bell above the door jingles and she spots Regina walking in, people immediately turn to give her ugly looks and she stares at them “Oh please, you’ll be rid of me in a few minutes, please continue your insignificant lives” she walks over to the counter where Ruby is standing and Cara scampers to the kitchen “Miss Lucas, can I have a word somewhere private?” Ruby shakes her head and Regina sighs “Ruby…”

She smiles “way better, shorter” she winks at her and walks them to the restrooms, closes the door after them

Regina pulls out a small necklace with a black crystal on it “I retrieved this from my vault, it renders any shifter who wears it powerless” she puts it in Ruby’s hand, closes her fist around it “there you go, now please stay”

“This thing works?”

Regina nods “I tested it on a werewolf even, it’s marvelous”

“Must be expensive, my cape was like completely rare”

“I traded a castle for it… when I intended to perhaps catch Snow’s wolf and kill it, it would have been rather easy to just magic it around your neck and promptly stab you”

Ruby laughs “This is so fucking ironic” she clasps it around her neck and leans down to kiss Regina, this time her lips respond for a few seconds before she gently pushes her again (she probably thinks I’m giving this up, poor sucker, stuck with me forever) “thanks for the gift, I’ll go get my things from upstairs, be right back”

“What?!”

She pecks her cheek right before turning “I’m still going”

As she goes up the stairs she hears Granny pulling Regina aside and assuring her that if Ruby gets hurt she’s dead, Regina promises to take care of her and Ruby smiles.

Ruby comes downstairs and says goodbye, maybe cries little and assures Granny she’ll send “one of those phone letters” to Cara with her new address as soon as she has one and that there’s no way Regina’s leaving without a way to come back In case Emma never shows with Henry, Eugenia gives her one last hug and pushes her out the door with an “of all the people in this damned town you fall in love with The Evil Queen, Red” “yeah yeah Granny I’m loco like that”

She finds Regina frowning at her phone right beside her car door, she puts her boxes in the trunk and goes over to her “Hey, I’m ready when you are”

“I made this town from nothing” she looks around and fixes her look in one of the street lights “now I’m leaving it in the care of idiots and my son won’t even leave their house to say goodbye”

Ruby takes her hand, interlaces their fingers “He’ll come around, I promise, I saw him the day the curse broke, he needs you and he’ll come around after maybe one week with the idiots” she smiles at her and Regina returns the gesture briefly before she pulls away and gets in her car

They leave town, bright red car closely following the black one, David is in the town border to make sure they go, as well as Gold with a smug little smile and a few people she remembers seeing around town, no sign of the rest of the Charmings, not even Snow who just sent her a midnight text telling her not to go.

As soon as she crosses the line she sees color draining from the world and stops hearing the squirrels in the forest, stops smelling every single thing in her car (she should wash it as soon as they get… wherever)

They’ve driven for a few hours and Ruby takes advantage of the empty road, pushes the gas and catches up to Regina, gestures her to pull over in the restaurant by the side of the road that’s visible from where they are, it’s not like she had breakfast since Regina moved the trip one hour

They sit in a booth by the window and after a waitress takes their order Ruby talks first “So where are we going?”

“The city, Boston, small towns can be gossipy as we well now and the two of us coming from nowhere, we wouldn’t last, we need anonymity while we settle”

Ruby takes her hand over the table “ooh let’s change our names, you’d rock some blue hair too”

Regina stares at their joint hands “I have enough to pay for two apartments for a few months while we get jobs and whatnot” Ruby furrows her brow at Regina’s sour mood

“Great blocking there to me moving in with you, which I was totally not planning on, I’m not crazy” Regina looks up at her and tries to free her hand “no, I mean I haven’t even taken you on a date yet, and you’re already giving me jewelry” she waggles her eyebrows “and I love it but I’m fine living somewhere that’s not your house, I can pay for it too”

The waitress comes back with their food and leaves without comment as they keep silent, finally Regina talks first “How much do you have?”

“I don’t know, I mean I have four jars of money, tip money, your curse was so weird, every day I got tipped and I used to put it in a jar to spend later and I guess that went on for twenty eight years huh, where did that money come from? How come we never went broke if most people were getting paid but no one was buying any clothes or like anything but food”

“Honestly dear, I have no idea how it worked”

Ruby laughs “Evil mastermind, if I got all this cash you must be rolling in money, mayor pay for three decades”

Regina smiles at her, it’s more of a smirk but she’ll take it “I could definitely pay for two apartments for more than a few months, that’s certain” she laughs for the first time since two nights ago and it makes Ruby’s heart soar, she picks up their hands from the table a presses a kiss to Regina’s knuckles.

She sees a woman actually shield her daughter’s eyes with the plastic menu and turns to Regina who is raising her eyebrow at the same table, finally she turns back and looks at Ruby “welcome to the real world”

“See, if we were in Storybrooke and my girlfriend hadn’t given me this nice necklace, she’d have one arm less by now”

“Girlfriend?”

“I’d like that, would you like that? We could go with that” (great, I fucked up)

Regina shuffles closer to Ruby in the booth and squeezes her hand “I wouldn’t mind that”

Ruby gives her a bright smile and this time the returning gesture matches in wattage (I’m so screwed)

They drive for another couple of hours and as they get deeper into the city Ruby fights the urge to just push her whole body through the window to take it all in, it’s barely after one pm and the sun in bright on top of them, the buildings casting gigantic shadows, unlike Storybrooke, her bright red car doesn’t even get an interested glance and suddenly she sees Regina’s point, no one in this city could care less that a werewolf is driving among them, no one in this city would even think of asking no matter how flashy they were

They arrive at a small hotel and Regina asks for a room with two beds in it, she looks at her and says “I’m sure you don’t mind” and Ruby shrugs (like anyone would mind) “nope”

They settle in the room and Ruby goes to the window, takes a picture and texts it to Snow, waits a while for an answer and when she gets none turns back to see Regina typing something in her laptop, “so… where are we?”

“Downtown? I actually don’t know that well, I stayed here when I came to pick up Henry ten years ago so I thought I’d give a try”

“It seems nice”

“Yes, I’m looking for an apartments nearby, the sooner we find something the better”

Ruby sits next to Regina on the bed, stays silent for endless minutes “So you look like you’re going on overdrive”

“We need to forge papers, and get false IDs, get new phones, ones with only one piece and no buttons, thouchphones? Henry wanted one, and of course a place to live that doesn’t require a lot of background search” Regina looks away from the screen and gives Ruby a small smile, she’s relieved she isn’t as upset as she sounds “I am a little stressed is all”

Ruby puts a hand in the small of her back “very illegal”

“She said to the mass murderer”

Ruby laughs and stands up (this is so fucked up) she speaks her mind “This is so fucked up, I’m going to get us some take out, do I really have to get rid of my cute flip phone? I mean it has a camera, and it’s bright red it didn’t even come with the curse I bought it”

“If you’re willing to explain every single time why you have a several years old phone with all this new… technology going around then keep it”

Ruby dials a Chinese food number from the catalogue left in the hotel room (ooh chinese, I’ve never had _that_ before) and Regina types away

Two days later they find an apartment building that doesn’t require jobs to rent a place, they all have two bedrooms and one bathroom but more importantly kitchens with ovens and they look no more. Ruby takes one that’s slightly cheaper because it’s _way_ uglier in the floor above Regina’s and that same day they drive their things from the hotel and settle in.

A few hours later when Ruby comes knocking at Regina’s door she’s met with a new ID and dinner, her favorite, mac and cheese. She settles on the floor with her back to a wall and her plate and digs in “How did you make this?” “I’ve contacts, from when I came out here to adopt Henry” “so rogue, I like it” Regina smiles at her

They spend hours on the floor, Regina’s in her pajamas since her designer clothing “wasn’t made to sit in the ground, it’s art” and for all the time Ruby’s spent with her she must admit it was always when Regina was coming from work or at the diner, she’s never seen her so relaxed, in loose clothing and her hair up, (she’s gorgeous) (I’m screwed)

She gets a job easily, waitressing, what else is she going to do it’s not like she hated it, it’s a small diner that doesn’t look anything like Granny’s but still reminds her of home, she tells Granny that that night when she calls and she gets yelled at for comparing her own Grandmother’s restaurant to what probably was a rat hole in the middle of that city, she laughs when Granny yells at her, on her second day in the job  one guy asks her why her phone is so old and she replies that she is a waitress, that he should give her a break but after she goes and buys one of those flat monstrosities Regina’d gotten herself the first day.

In the meantime Regina’s… being rich, not too rich but rich enough, she buys a couch and a bed and a TV with a DVD player since she won’t pay for cable just yet, “the forgery is too fresh to get in a contract”, she brought her own kitchen appliances and pillows and sheets (thank god) some books too, and when Ruby asks why she brought those and not the TV which certainly would fit in the car, she replies it’s still Henry’s house and doesn’t talk for an hour, after she takes Ruby’s hand and sits her down in the new couch, gets photo albums and goes through them with her.

Regina comes in some mornings, she asks what she asked for in Storybrooke and albeit is not as good she tells Ruby it brings her comfort and she understands, really, on the fifth day she tells off a man that tried to grab Ruby’s ass and after her shift She’s sulking outside the diner waiting to take Ruby shopping because “the fact that you only own shorts is not helping my cause” Ruby laughs “Whose fault is that?” “Consider this reparations” She takes her hand and swings her backpack in her arm, takes a long step forward to turn around and kiss her “Of course I will let her majesty buy me pants to protect my honor” Regina kisses her back in a way that she would never in Storybrooke where she lived with her guard up, looks her up and down after “You’re getting leather pants” “That helps your cause?” Regina laughs “I have many causes and they certainly help one of them”

They’re watching a movie after their little mall expedition (a whole adventure) (I had never seen floors so shiny) (Granny would cry) and Ruby’s head is in its usual spot on Regina’s lap (This woman has the most comfortable thighs on earth) while her hand weaves through her hair, her legs kicked off the side of the couch; and the dude in the TV is feeding this woman some pasta while they laugh and Ruby swings her legs forward sits up, she makes Regina gasp “Tomorrow’s Saturday” “that it is” “let’s go on a date, you can put those new jeans to use” “Jeans on a date? By all means let’s act like we’re fifteen” “Good” She lays down again and Regina’s hands resume their journey, she looks up “I am going to need an extension for this week” she turns her head to the TV and drifts to sleep

She wakes up to Regina already having coffee and in running clothes, she smiles at her when she wakes up “Miss Lucas” she nods at her and Ruby laughs

“Look I’m just gonna call you Reggie so our average cuteness score gets balanced then”

“You wouldn’t dare”

She stands up and stretches, lets out a yawn, grabs for the red mug she’d bought the day before and fills it with coffee “You run now, Reggie?”

“We age now _Miss Lucas_ , now is as good time as any to start and there’s a park nearby”

“Reggie my… veggie?” She laughs as Regina’s eyebrow goes up, and she soldiers on “you’re an ageless beauty”

Regina stands up and grabs for the key “Lock when you leave, _Red_ ”

Ruby yells at the closed door “I win”

They arrive at a small bar hand in hand and no one gives them bad looks, so the night is young and it’s going well, they buy drinks and settle in the same side of a booth, the side facing the small stage they have set up, Regina sips at her wine and turns to look at Ruby “You look very beautiful tonight”

She hums “Like what you see in my fine leather pants?” She laughs when Regina nods and Ruby puts her arm around her shoulder “I like what I see too Gina, and I think Gina is a very good middle point and it deserves at least one night of trial”

“I like Gina, my father used to call me Gina sometimes”

“oh good, childhood, now I know childhood is not first date but we’ve covered all the basics in the last thirty years” She thinks she sees the man in the booth before them turn around but she pays him no mind “I for example had no father or mother growing up, just Granny, she used to call me little Red until I bled, the she sat me down and said Little Red you are a woman now, and gave me my cloak” yep, the dude was definitely turning now, Regina notices him too and makes sure to keep her voice down

“I thought you were Red _because_ of the cloak”

She shakes her head, talks low “I just liked red, I used to steal red things from people’s baskets in the market, apparently since I was a baby, Granny did name me Red, what did you think? I changed my name someday to a color?”

“Everything is possible I mean Eva named Snow like that because she was extremely white” Regina laughs “who knows with you princess-loving people”

“Shut up, she did?”

Regina nods and Ruby takes a sip of her beer “Leopold would go on and on about how when she was born she had skin fair as snow and hair black as coal, and eyes something as something and she was the most beautiful infant of the realm”

“Well the movie got something right” she furrows her brow “You ever wonder who came here and told this land our stories”

“Probably some buffoon who managed to fall into a portal into a magic less medieval setting I suppose, or whenever these fairytales were written”

She clears her throat “Will you ever tell me your side of the story, please. Snow’s could be, _must_ be, slightly biased”

Regina smiles at her “Long story short, I was going to run away with a stable boy and she caught us, told my mother and she murdered him, I blamed Snow for a very long time for everything that happened after”

“I could hear the long version”

“I’m sure you could, and you will, another day” Regina lets her head fall into the back of tall seat and Ruby pulls her in until it lays on her shoulder, kisses the top of it “That day I could smell you, _really_ smell you… you’re the best scent in the world, in all of the worlds probably” Regina takes her hand under the table and lays them in her thigh as the band starts playing

They enter Regina’s apartment after midnight and Ruby plops down in the couch and gives Regina a warm smile “I’ve had so much fun tonight” She is still standing and not really saying a lot, Right when Ruby is going to ask she speaks “Bed”

“oh what?”

“I’ve had a lot of fun too Ruby, bed.”

She stands up, comes closer to Regina “I didn’t mean it like that, I’m not pressuring you or anything”

She smirks “heartwarming, three decades you’ve leered at me and when you’re offered a chance you endanger it” she puts her hands in Ruby’s chest, stands up in the tip of her feet to whisper in her ear “Bed”

Ruby doesn’t need any more cues, she leans down to kiss Regina, starts walking backwards to lead them to the bedroom and when they get there she turns and all but pushes her into the bed, climbs on top of her, Regina’s hands go to lift her sweater over her head and they part for a few seconds before Regina huffs “you’re a giant dear, stand”

Ruby does as told, uncertain of what just happened Regina sits up in her elbows, her hair is mused and her lipstick smudged but there’s something in her eye that makes her look dangerous, that has Ruby shivering while still completely clothed, she speaks again “Strip”

She obeys and starts with the sweater, goes on with the tank top underneath it, pops her leather pants’ button open until she realizes what’s happening here, “wait, why aren’t you stripping” Regina raises an eyebrow and when she speaks her voice comes out hoarse, a lower tone than it usually does, now Ruby never heard the Evil queen but she is sure it was like this “well I thought you’d like the privilege Red” (fuck yes I would) “No, I want you to strip too”

Regina stands from the bed, she walks close to Ruby, tilts her head back to make eye contact as she pops the buttons in her blouse open one by one, somewhere around the fifth one Ruby decides she has no time for this and takes Regina by the waist, pushes her into the bed again, closer to the edge this time, and falls to her knees, looks up to find Regina’s eyes trained on her, dark (so dark) she takes off Regina’s boots and undoes the jean’s button and zipper, drags them out lacy underwear and all, looks up again and uses her arms to pull Regina forward, she moans, “I’m so screwed” “Well not yet darling” Ruby kisses up a thigh, the other one leaps over her shoulder, pulls her in “I’m so utterly fucked”

They have been there for two weeks and Ruby’s head is on Regina’s lap (so effing comfortable) as they watch their latest dvd purchase when Regina’s phone rings in the coffee table, Ruby grabs it and passes it on without looking at the screen so she is not prepared at all when Regina stands up and her head hits the couch, she sits up and hears her gasp “Henry?” she pauses the movie and stares at Regina pacing back and forth saying yeses and of course and I’ll text her right now

Ruby looks at her type something and go into the room for the laptop, she comes back and sinks down next to Ruby on the couch, “he says he want to come maybe next weekend, that he’ll call me on skype now, I gave him you e-mail, I hope that’s okay” “Gina that’s great, of course!” Ruby logs in and they look at the screen until the call comes in “Do you want me to leave?” “no Red, stay please” She nods and Henry’s head pops in the screen with Emma

“Hi Mom, I’m sorry I hadn’t called before Dr. Hopper said if I didn’t have anything good  to say it was better to wait, and to tell you why I was very angry”

“Of course”

“You said I was crazy!”

“I’m so sorry, Henry, I was scared and… must Miss Swan be here for this”

She leans into the camera “Um I’d like to be, I mean if you really need me to go and that’s okay with Henry-“

“Just stay Swan… I am sorry Henry I was scared I was going to lose you if the curse broke, I was scared of this”

“It’s okay I guess, I mean you’re not evil out there right? You have no magic”

Regina shakes her head and Ruby grabs her hand off camera, draws a pattern on the top of it with her thumb

“Where is Ruby? Grandma says she hasn’t heard from her, is she okay?” Regina hears the did you hurt her loud and clear, and Ruby sees her expression falter, pops into view with crossed eyes to buy her some time

“I am now a Robot, I serve Regina, My name is Jeeves” Henry laughs and yells a HI! At her, she uncrosses her eyes, Mr. Mills what’s up? Emma! Your roots are showing”

The blonde rolls her eyes “yeah ok you’re conveniently at Regina’s tonight”

“Shut up”

Henry looks at Emma, turns to the camera “Hey mom said it’d be ok if we go next week and Granny said she’ll come with us!”

Ruby feels Regina’s hand in the small of her back “yeah? Oh man that’s so great, I miss my Granny so much”

She turns to Regina who’s off camera and motions for her to come, when she does she keeps silent, just looking at Henry until he speaks “Um so what are you guys doing?” Emma laughs and it’s Regina who answers “We were watching a movie” “Oh like we used to” Emma looks at him and then at the screen with a question written all over her face but Henry goes on ”Umm mom Mary Margaret wants to talk to Ruby so I guess I’ll call you on the phone now”

Regina stands up to pick up the phone and Snow appears on screen with a small smile “Hello Red” “Frosty, my girl!” she gives her a smile “This is the longest we’ve ever gone without speaking since we met I think” “yes, because of Regina” “oh god no, I texted you a very nice picture of a huge building and you didn’t reply, that’s on you” Snow looks down “are you two still… involved” Ruby nods “pretty solid, she lets me call her Gina” Snow laughs “please, she does _not_ ” Ruby clears her throat “Gina?” Regina’s head peeks out of the bedroom, phone pressed to her ear, she doesn’t even see Snow gaping at her from the screen “Oh nothing baby just checking” she frowns and walks in the room again. Snow talks again “Gina? Baby? God” “hey I stood by all of your I will always find yous!” “yeah yeah, we’ll be in touch” “Yes please, stop being a bitch” She laughs and hangs up the call

A week later Ruby’s holding a pizza in one hand and shuffling keys in the other, and when she finally opens the door she pushes it with her back to come in “Gina I brought pizza so you can get energy fo-“ when she looks up she finds Henry, Emma and Granny already in the couch all staring at her “Holy shit Granny!” she puts the pizza down and moves in to hug her grandmother, Eugenia chuckles “Well you never liked me this much” she laughs “well three weeks will do it right Henry?” he nods and moves in for his own hug (Finally, this little shit) Ruby holds on for a while and squeezes him moves over to Emma, she whispers in her ear “so what’s _Gina_ gaining Energy for?” Ruby gives her a very _strong_ pat in the shoulder

She moves over to sit next to Granny “so I was saying I brought pizza so Regina could gain some energy to make whatever dinner extravaganza she was planning for you people”, a few minutes later Henry stands up and sits in the arm of Regina’s chair, puts his arm on her shoulder for support and the look she gives him Ruby saves in her mind until she dies

They spend a good afternoon, at some point no one’s actually talking to Ruby and she is free to just observe, she looks at Regina sitting on the floor with her son while he teaches her how to work a PS3 controller so she can beat Emma and she sees Emma on the couch taunting them both, sees her own grandmother in the kitchen overseeing some lasagna that’s a team effort between Regina and her. And she realizes she has a big family, this picture is still missing Snow and David, but through Regina and Henry they’re all family now, and she’s infinitely grateful she wormed her way in.

Regina motions her over and she comes sit next to her on the floor, wrestles Henry to her lap and Regina laughs (holy shit) it’s a great laugh and she speaks “Ruby’ll be on my team, won’t you darling?” and she nods “Heck yeah!” Henry still on her lap “Are you guys like dating now?” in the few seconds it takes Regina to answer Granny’s come out of the kitchen and they all fall silent, she answers “we are, is that okay with you?” He shrugs “Yeah” (shit thank god I wouldn’t have survived a no) Ruby tickles him “You know what that means? THREE moms” he squirms out “oh ew more moms”

A few minutes into this soccer game they’re losing Granny comes out the kitchen “Girlie come” Regina looks around and the back to Granny “Me? I am no girl” “you’re all children to me, come” Ruby sees her go and turns back to the TV to another goal from Henry’s team and, this is ridiculous he brought this thing to humiliate them, rude

Later when they’re serving dinner, she’s setting up the table and Regina comes in with a bowl full of bread and when she passes her and puts it down on the table she stands on her tip toes, gives her a quick kiss and a smile and retreats to the kitchen, Ruby looks around blushing to see if she finds Granny but she only sees Emma laughing in the couch “You’re so fucked, call me when you propose” “I am _incredibly_ fucked” she winks at Emma and goes back to setting the table

They’re eating when Henry speaks up “So do you live here Ruby?” she smiles at him “My apartment is upstairs” “Cool, you have a job?” “Waiting in a diner, what I do best” Granny laughs and tells them all several stories on why that’s what not what Ruby does best, when she finishes Henry turns to Regina “What about you mom?” “I actually heard back from a job interview this morning” Ruby turns “You did? This is very surprising over all, what job interview?” “It’s a country club, the drive is an hour but I’ll man their horses and teach a beginners class” Henry chimes in “Mom loves horses!” Ruby laughs “we’re all aware mom loves horses” Emma frowns “we are?” Granny speaks up next “There was death penalty to putting down a horse that wasn’t sick in her kingdom” Regina gives a small smile at that and Henry grows silent after the reminder of their past but it’s still a nice evening

Henry sleeps with Regina that day and Emma takes what should be Henry’s room in the apartment, Granny shares Ruby’s bed with her in her apartment and Ruby makes a mental note to take jar money and get another bed for when they come next time, the next day they go out for lunch and as they go back she can see Granny and Henry looking around as she did when she came here (she still does) Emma seems unaffected as she holds a civil conversation with Regina, when they’re done Emma goes to take a picture of Henry looking up at a building and Ruby moves in, kisses the top of Regina’s hair and takes her hand, Emma takes a picture of them too then yells “Hey guys a selfie” “what?” three of them talk at the same time and Emma laughs “Honestly Ruby how old are you?” “I’m thinking fifty-three” “oh… a selfie is just picture, let’s take a picture”

When she gets the text she has the picture printed and framed, puts it in her bedside table and gives Regina copy too, she shows her the other picture Emma had texted them both, Of Regina smiling as Ruby kisses the top of her head, framed as well.

Emma starts bringing Henry by every two weeks at first, and they skype every few days if not every day, sometimes Ruby’s there and sometimes she isn’t but she’s happy regardless and Regina and him are in a much better place. She comes home sore from work and when Ruby makes her way into her apartment she just motions her to the couch and collapses in her arms, shows her selfies of her and all the horses and the kids she’s teaching and tells her about her day, they go on dates, do everything they could never do in Storybrooke, movie theaters, fancy restaurants, McDonalds (which, ew, never again), a basketball game (yay go Celtics), museums, one questionable Paramore concert, rollerskating, they find something to do with themselves every weekend and after they collapse in Regina’s bed, with less and less clothing as the summer gets closer, the fact that Ruby’s paying for another apartment gets a tad ridiculous but they don’t break their peace

Summer comes and Henry asks his mother if he can spend it on the city with them and when he shows up it’s not with Emma but with Snow that just says surprise and throws herself at Ruby, Regina gives her a small nod and she returns it and tells her the braid she’s sporting is as beautiful as the ones she used to sport when they were bot practically children. Hey, heaven is real and it’s here. She stays for a week, Ruby sleeps in her own apartment for a week and when she goes they agree it is hell and she will cancel her lease and move in as soon as possible

At the end of the summer Henry asks if he can live with them again and maybe visit Emma on the weekends, Regina cries, Ruby cries a little too but this is not about her, Regina cries and says of course and Emma doesn’t really have any legal or logical reasons to say no so Henry goes and gets driven with his things from Mifflin and they find him a school nearby. Ruby drives him to Storybrooke twice and before the third time comes Emma shows up at their door and says “so I moved back to Boston”

Snow cries, on skype, her hair is brushing her shoulders by now and she looks like the most suburban wife to ever live, tells her she’s three months pregnant and that when she told Emma she said she was moving back to live closer to Henry, Ruby suggests they move here too, that it’s great but they have a responsibility to their people and yada yada yada

They come and visit every once in a while, stay at Emma’s (thank god for fucking Emma), there’s a few family dinners and there’s a few yelling matches but Regina wouldn’t dare be too harsh on a pregnant woman so David takes the bulk of insults, and Ruby shouldn’t really feel so good when he girlfriend tells off her best friend’s husband but oh she does and the nights when they stumble into town they make sure to push Henry into Emma’s house too because they’re too loud and that apartment is too small

Emma starts dating some guy (Joe his name is Joe) and Ruby gives him the usual best friend run down but when the poor guy meets Regina you’d think Emma was her Siamese sister for the level of interrogation and threatening he endures from her, she says she’s worried about Henry but she’s not fooling anyone, Emma smiles at her and the guy sits next to her and whispers she’s evil and they all laugh at him as he avoids Regina’s eyes

First Christmas rolls around and Granny, Snow and David come around, they all cram themselves into the apartment for dinner Granny and Regina cook and there’s so many people David doesn’t even get yelled at and it’s the most fun Ruby’s ever had in her life. Emma doesn’t invite Joe yet, he goes to… who cares? They all talk well into the night, Henry’s passed out in what’s officially her spot, head on Regina’s lap as she passes her hand through his hair, and Ruby couldn’t care less, she picks him up and puts him in bed and when he comes back Emma’s sitting in the couch, she gets pushed off and she assumes Henry’s previous position and they all laugh when she almost growls at her

They adopt a three-year-old girl. Her name’s Charlotte and she has bouncy black curls and when they came in the adoption fair she approached them and looked at Ruby and babbled “you please pick me up so I look at evewything fwom up” Regina laughed and laughed and laughed and even after Ruby had picked her up and the little girl had exclaimed it was like being on the second floor but more windy she was still laughing, they had to take in Henry for the full family interview and get a new apartment where Charlotte had her own room, they found a four bedroom one, and the rent was extremely high so Regina just went on and bought it, Ruby wasn’t even mad. When they were settled in they took her home with them and she said “you my moms?” they both nodded and she ran off into the house, acted like she was born in the family, they cried a little

That weekend Granny and Snow and David and their four month old David roll into town to meet Charlie and she meets Emma as well and if she likes all of them except David and Regina enjoys it all too much Ruby did not see it, Ruby will not react. She stands on Granny’s lap and says “you my gwandma” and takes her face in her little hands, Granny cries a little but they all pretend they didn’t see it

That Christmas they go back to Storybrooke for a visit, as soon as they cross the town line Regina’s eyes glow purple and her lips part, Ruby now knows _exactly_ why the gesture is so utterly alluring and she chuckles as her own eyes turn yellow, she looks back and sees Henry head banging with his earphones on, little Charlie passed out. “Did you just come a little?” Regina laughs and stretches in her seat “magic is just a tad intoxicating, that’s all” Ruby smirks, looks back again “What could we do with your new found magic and my barely suppressed animalistic urges” Regina hums and smirks “maybe if I remember how to sound proof a room you’ll find out”

Regina does remember how to soundproof a room, and in their very educational night Ruby learns that if she does several things in a very specific order she can have the same effect on Regina that any purple glow cloud and town border thank you very much, she also learns that purple eyes Regina has no time to rest and is twice as strong, she can’t even begin to imagine what this woman could have done in the Enchanted Forest with her magical bars full, no wonder why they were afraid of her. When Regina looks up  between her legs she thinks it’s going to be over pretty soon, she closes her eyes and settles down but she’s feeling more hands that there should be and when she looks down again she’s met with purple eyes and oh fuck  ”What are you doing to me?” “Fucking you” she moans at that “I thought you didn’t like the ve- erb” Regina stops all together, tongue and the fifty (fifty thousand?) Invisible hands “You want me to stop then?” Ruby hooks a leg around her neck and pulls her back in “Don't you dare”

Dinner is at Mifflin, and thank god because they’re too many of them for Snow’s loft. Granny, Snow, both Davids, Emma who finally brought Joe, Henry, Charlotte and the two of them, it’s ridiculous and loud and hectic and she suddenly remembers they’re all missing at least one dog and goes and finds one stray puppy, it takes less than one hour, (smelling everything is so great) and when she comes back she’s hit with a wave of nostalgia of times shared in this house with Regina and Henry, she sits down with the little puppy in her lap and looks around, sees Emma talking to Henry on one side, while Granny tinkers around in Regina’s old kitchen finishing off dinner, and Snow and David Sr. corner Joe, the first boy Emma’s brought home, they’re so busy testing the poor guy they don’t even register the Evil Queen sitting on the floor playing with their baby, and little Charlie that shoots up from her mother side to all but climb Ruby in the seat she’s picked making the puppy scamper to Regina as if it’s sensing she’ll take care of him

When she looks back Regina’s holding the puppy in her arms and she raises an eyebrow, Ruby gives her a sheepish smile and beckons her with one hand while a little shoe stabs in her shoulder and her other hand shoots up to grab at her daughter, Regina sits next to them with the dog and Ruby pulls her in, her arm around her shoulders and kisses the top of her head “You smell different now, you smell like all of us” Regina smiles “now I’m going to smell like dog all the time” “You’ll still be the best scent of the world baby”

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
